Wow.. just.. wow.. it's amazing how getting a licensed Jayne hat can have so many consequences. The mass banning of folks on Etsy..the sheer hate/discontent in a community. Particularly over a hat that was never actually seen on a broadcast episode.

FOX gets a lot of hate but I do question whether Firefly would have as big a fanbase as it currently does if it had not been canceled (and thus become something of a sci-fi martyr). I like the show well enough, but I never, ever would have known about it if it weren't for the mass lamenting.

Well. I was going to say "Presumably it's the design that's copyrighted". But then that got me thinking. Downside of advances in 3D printing technology: Eventually, literally all the things will come with cease-and-desist letters preattached.

Clothing cannot be copyrighted. Only branding. Fox would have to have a trademark on 'Jayne's Hat' in and of itself to even defend such a position. Which it would have long since lost by this point, if anyone could afford to stand up to a lawsuit.

Clothing cannot be copyrighted. Only branding. Fox would have to have a trademark on 'Jayne's Hat' in and of itself to even defend such a position. Which it would have long since lost by this point, if anyone could afford to stand up to a lawsuit.

They (Fox) are going for the folks that can't afford to defend themselves against costly legal battles. Hence they go after the folks on Etsy. You hammer in a C&D order and Etsy bans them without fail. So, you're 'protecting' your copyright AND 'winning' with minimal effort.

FOX gets a lot of hate but I do question whether Firefly would have as big a fanbase as it currently does if it had not been canceled (and thus become something of a sci-fi martyr). I like the show well enough, but I never, ever would have known about it if it weren't for the mass lamenting.

By the time I heard of Firefly, it had already been well and truly cancelled. I saw the movie Serenity and thought "This is a really fun movie", then I discovered that it was based off a TV show and so I tracked the show down and watched it all.

I have an exact hat like that, except that it's not orange in colour. In fact, I shall wear it right now.

You want to know how old it is? 12 years old. I know because it was the first piece of Winter clothing that I never got handed down to me. I bought it myself.

And even worse, it's a Canadian artefact, it's a Tuque! (Pretty sure it's worn around the world, but in Canada, it's pretty a common design.) We've been making these for at least a hundred years.

Firefly had two things going for it's popularity, it was riding off the coat tails of Joss Whedon's other properties (And after Angel and Buffy, his name had mass appeal) and Fox's screwing with it, giving it a mystique and allure that it might not have gotten otherwise.

And Serenity had enough silly things in it that broke any sense of immersion I could have gotten out of it (and this is coming from a Space Opera fan) and I still don't get it's popularity.

FOX gets a lot of hate but I do question whether Firefly would have as big a fanbase as it currently does if it had not been canceled (and thus become something of a sci-fi martyr). I like the show well enough, but I never, ever would have known about it if it weren't for the mass lamenting.

Everyone I know who enjoys Firefly likes it because it's great.

I imagine Firefly would have more fans, not less, if Fox hadn't aired the episodes drastically out of order and cancelled it in the middle of a season (they didn't even finish airing the episodes that were done.) The series premiere was the eighth episode they aired (out of 11!)!

You might have known about it if Fox hadn't done their best to ensure that nobody was going to watch it in the first place -- there as no hype for it because the show that they aired had an incomprehensible story and failed to be the sci-fi comedy they said it was.

Firefly had two things going for it's popularity, it was riding off the coat tails of Joss Whedon's other properties (And after Angel and Buffy, his name had mass appeal) and Fox's screwing with it, giving it a mystique and allure that it might not have gotten otherwise.

It had three things going for it, actually. The third being that it was a great show.

I mention this as I was introduced to the show without knowing either a) it was canceled or b) it was related to Angel/Buffy (I don't really pay much attention to credits so I tend not to notice that kind of thing unless someone explicitly tells me about it). I thought it was awesome and asked when it was on.

"Yeah, about that..."

:|

Obviously not everyone's going to like everything that everyone else likes but it's a little insulting to suggest people only talk about Firefly because of X reasons and not on its own merits, both to the show and to its fans.

You know, I was amazed that two successful show starters that season had SO much trouble with Fox execs. Whedon and Simpsons creator Matt Georing. By then the Simpsons was already the longest running animated show and rapidly becoming the 2nd longest running series in TV history. Yet Fox execs fucked with BOTh their new shows that season. Despite the fact it was quite clear that both men had an idea of how to entertain the public.

I don't blame Whedon at ALL for dragging his feet in finishing up his show contract with Fox, given that he still owes them one more series.

It had three things going for it, actually. The third being that it was a great show.

I mention this as I was introduced to the show without knowing either a) it was canceled or b) it was related to Angel/Buffy (I don't really pay much attention to credits so I tend not to notice that kind of thing unless someone explicitly tells me about it). I thought it was awesome and asked when it was on.

"Yeah, about that..."

:|

Obviously not everyone's going to like everything that everyone else likes but it's a little insulting to suggest people only talk about Firefly because of X reasons and not on its own merits, both to the show and to its fans.

Given the amount of raving people gave it for being a 'Joss Whedon show' during the time it was being aired, I stand by the fact that his name had a rather large impact, despite the fact that he only wrote all of two episodes in it's 13.

Sadly, if they ever do get to do another run of Firefly (which I believe there's a petition floating about?) they'll have to redo it from scratch. After Serenity, Mr. Whedon apparently gave the sign off to destroy the sets. And destroying sets is to show that you've no intention of making anymore of that series.

Given the amount of raving people gave it for being a 'Joss Whedon show' during the time it was being aired, I stand by the fact that his name had a rather large impact, despite the fact that he only wrote all of two episodes in it's 13.

Sadly, if they ever do get to do another run of Firefly (which I believe there's a petition floating about?) they'll have to redo it from scratch. After Serenity, Mr. Whedon apparently gave the sign off to destroy the sets. And destroying sets is to show that you've no intention of making anymore of that series.

Well I don't think the production company had the funds to maintain the sets anyway. And it was pretty much given the way that Serenity went that he didn't see another reboot coming given what happened at the movie. I think the way the movie went that it was to be 'done' and moved on. The story ended.. and IF they resume.. it would be something in the same world.. but a new story.

He (Joss) still owes Fox another series.. but I don't see him rushing to propose anything after the very 'hands on' attitude of some fox execs

I think at some point he mentioned continuation of Firefly would be in other media: novels, comics, etc.

Chris: you stand by the assertion that his name had a rather large impact on...what? Raving that apparently didn't garner enough popularity while the show was being aired or else it would have been less likely to get canceled? I'm not sure how this supports your point.

I think at some point he mentioned continuation of Firefly would be in other media: novels, comics, etc.

Chris: you stand by the assertion that his name had a rather large impact on...what? Raving that apparently didn't garner enough popularity while the show was being aired or else it would have been less likely to get canceled? I'm not sure how this supports your point.

What I'm saying is that the Joss Whedon name got it 'out there', people knew about it. If it wasn't 'his' project, I honestly doubt it would have gotten as much attention from fans. There's a good chance very few would have actually looked at it, especially given how Fox wanted to kill it. And I'm not saying it's a good or bad series either. I personally don't know what the whole love of the series comes from, I saw the thirteen episodes, I saw Serenity. It was... OK. Typical Whedon fare in my opinion. But when it comes to how word got out, I got the impression from what I saw on the internet and what I saw locally that it was mostly because Whedon's name was attached to it.

Either way, it's a stupid thing to try and copyright this hat, because we Canucks might have a word to say about that. As in ALL of us.

Just as a point of note, it's the fact that people on Etsy were calling it 'Jayne's Hat' that would have gotten them the C&D orders. If they were calling it 'Touque with Pom-pom - choice of colors!' (I think I spelled that right) then it would probably slip right by. They might have even been able to tuck 'Goes well with brown coats' into the description, and only the fans would have caught on.